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College professors are going back to paper exams and handwritten essays to fight students using ChatGPT
(www.businessinsider.com)
this post was submitted on 13 Aug 2023
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When I was in school, exams were taken on proctored devices that were locked down by the IT team to the point where you couldn't even close the test software to look at something else. That's not any less secure than having to hand-write your answers, and while it may have been expensive, I can't imagine it being more expensive than missing out on automatic organization and/or grading for certain kinds of tests in the long run.
So, we're working on a study for online Vs in person.
We've noticed that stiict time limits alone tend to shift grades. A locked down browser sounds great, but anyone can search using their phone, so proctoring is a must (but also time consuming to check) if you want to get the intended effect.
As for online grading, it's a mixed bag. With a very strict rubric, gradescope can save a lot of time, but otherwise it takes a lot longer. MCQs and single number answers can be auto-matked, but they're awful at assessing ability and should be avoided. Overall, grading online costs more than it saves, and tends to give much more rigid feedback to students.
Thanks for the thoughtful response. Followup: if all students are facing the same direction, couldn't you just set up a camera behind and above them to see if they're hiding a phone behind the monitor? Hiding it under their desk can happen with or without a computer. If students are told that you're doing that, even if you only watch the camera feed during the test and don't pay that much attention, the evidence of them cheating being on a recording to be checked at any time would be a very powerful deterrent.
You could indeed go for such a setup, however, in a room with 50+ students it becomes very hard to angle a camera with a clear view on all of them, their computer screens, and under their desks. It's easier just to walk around the room to invigilate. However, I might have a read up on this as it might be an option for students with exam anxiety (I realise we look scary walking around the exam room!).
That's true, but the students won't necessarily know that. There's gotta be some solution that doesn't send us back to the 20th century!